Abstract
IN a recent communication1 Micheel and Kraft have proposed a structure for ascorbic acid of a furane-carboxylic acid type. This structure was considered by us some months ago, and although attractive as explaining many of the chemical properties, we did not put it forward, principally on the ground that it would not satisfy the crystallographic requirements; these are, briefly2, that the pseudosymmetry, optical properties and the thinness of the molecule demand a structure which is almost completely flat. Unless the disposition of the carbon valencies in ascorbic acid is entirely novel, a molecule of the structure proposed by Micheel and Kraft would certainly not meet these requirements. These objections, which were considered in detail by us before the publication of our previous note3, still hold, and they apply also to variants of Micheel and Kraft's structure containing ethylene oxide or pyranose rings.
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References
NATURE, 131, 274, Feb. 25, 1933.
NATURE, 130, 205, Aug. 6, 1932.
NATURE, 130, 888, Dec. 10, 1932.
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COX, E., HIRST, E. Constitution of Vitamin C. Nature 131, 402 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/131402a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/131402a0
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